100 Greatest Phillies: 21 – Chris Short

Fourth all-time in franchise wins. Fourth all-time franchise shutouts. Third all-time franchise strikeouts. Chris “Style” Short was a Phillies pitching legend over his 14-year Phillie career. The left-hander competed with five of the greatest pitchers of all-time during his best years — Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, Juan Marichal, Bob Gibson and teammate Jim Bunning. And he held his own. In 1964 he went 17-9 with a 2.20 ERA despite being overused toward the end of the season. He won 18 games in 1965 and 20 in ’66. In the great pitching year of 1968 he went 19-13 with a 3.02 ERA. Great numbers, right? His 19 wins was fourth in the National League; his 3.02 ERA was not even close to the top 10. That aside, Short had seven consecutive fantastic seasons on the mound, and surrounded those years with steady work. Toward the end of his career Short maintained a respectable ERA, but couldn’t quite overpower hitters the way he could before. Throughout Phillies history, one can make the case that currently, Short is the franchise’s second-greatest lefty.

Comment: Short had a few unbelievable seasons and was considered a top arm in an era of truly legendary pitchers. Though he wasn’t near being a Hall of Fame pitcher, he absolutely gave the Phils some of the best pitching seasons in franchise history. And he was instrumental in the 1964 campaign, despite being used beyond belief toward the end. He just misses the top 20.